Man looks to bike across country raising money for local organization

Tuesday, January 8th 2019, 6:34 PM EST by Brandon Menard

PAINTED POST, N.Y. (WENY) -- If there's one thing Chris Dieringer knows, it's how to put his body to the test for a good cause. In November of 2017, he completed a nearly 7 month hike of the Appalachian Trail. Raising six thousand dollars for CASA. This year, he's trading in his hiking shoes for his pedal bike as he plans to ride across country.

"I'm going to do a bike ride," said CASA advocate, Chris Dieringer. "Kind of a long bike ride. About 3,000 miles starting in San Diego and heading East ending in Florida."

Dieringer has been training since the summer to prepare himself for the long ride. Along the journey, Dieringer says he'll run into some challenges which he hopes to tackle head on.

"Some fairly significant mountains along the route, some deserts, things of that nature which I'm looking forward to that challenge," said Dieringer. "But I think it's an opportunity to share with people this kind of adventure."

All the money needed for the trip is being funded personally by Dieringer. He plans on making stops along the way at different CASA's along the way for special functions to help them raise money. As well as accept any donations for CASA of the Southern Tier

"The Appalachian Trail had a target of $5,000 and we raised a little over 6," said Dieringer. "So that was very gratifying. This one, we're hoping to raise ten thousand dollars over the course of the journey."

Dieringer will start his 3 month journey on March 2nd. To follow his progress, you can visit CASA of the Southern Tier's website here.